


A little secret

by Jungbluth



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Depression, Dom/sub, Domestic Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Half-Siblings, Multi, PTSD, Prostitution, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Violence, gang life, losing a child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:08:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21549667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jungbluth/pseuds/Jungbluth
Summary: Which is also the reason why he had the time to inspect the strange letter that had arrived that morning, without being interrupted.It was simply addressed to „The Shelby residence“ in an elegant script with no return address.
Relationships: Ada Shelby/Freddie Thorne, Alfie Solomons/Original Character(s), Alfie Solomons/Original Female Character(s), Grace Burgess/Tommy Shelby
Comments: 7
Kudos: 62





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this idea floating around my head for a while now and finally sat down to write it. I'm posting the first chapter even though it's really really short because I don't think that I will continue working on it otherwise...because I am the queen of procrastination haha  
> I'm also not happy with the title, so let's see how often I end up changing it.  
> I was also inspired to just write and post this because of Excelsior10, who wrote a chapter on a phone while being in an airport. So really, what's my excuse?

Tommy has always been an early riser, even before the war. Now he was mostly the first one awake because he never slept through the night anymore and couldn’t bear to laze around in bed and be still for too long. That is why he was always the first to come down into their little kitchen, put on water for a pot of tea and got the morning post and paper. Which is also the reason why he had the time to inspect the strange letter that had arrived that morning, without being interrupted.

It was simply addressed to „The Shelby residence“ in an elegant script with no return address. He couldn’t feel anything but paper and maybe some photographs and he didn’t think that Kimber would send them letters, that wasn’t really the man’s style. Still, he erred on the side of caution and walked through the opening into the illegal betting shop and his small office. There he ripped the letter open and unfolded the piece of paper, that was filled with more of the elegant handwriting.

_Good Day,_

_My name is Irene Phillips and I have recently become aware of the knowledge that we may be related through our father. Seeing as I have never heard of you, I assume you also have no idea that I even exist. My mother has recently passed away and while going through her things I found an old photograph of my, heavily pregnant, mother and a man. The name Arthur Shelby is written on the back side, I have included it as proof that I am not telling tales. My mother has never spoken to me about the man who put a baby in her belly and then left her to fend for herself, but for some reason she remembered him fondly, for she never married. After finding the picture and a letter with an address from Small Heath I hired an investigator to find out if my father was still alive. Imagine my surprise when I was told that he had another family, it was not a huge one._

_I write this letter in the hopes of getting to know you. I have no siblings and no family from my mother's side and thought it was worth a try. I include my home telephone number and address in this letter with the hope that you get in touch sometime in the future._

_With kind regards,_

_Irene M. Phillips_

He had put the photograph aside without really looking at it, but after reading the almost business-type letter that only had the bare minimum of information he took a closer look. It indeed showed a much younger version of the bastard besides a small, heavily pregnant, dark haired woman. They were both smiling, but he could see that his father didn’t really mean it. He flipped the picture, in the hopes that the woman’s name would also be on it, but no such luck. Tommy reread the letter again before sitting back into his chair and lighting a cigarette. 

He would be lying if he said that he was surprised to find out that his father sired other children. The man was a bastard and regularly cheated on his wife. For a split second he contemplated telling the rest of the family about this new development, he quickly chucked that thought out of the window. Polly would be the best person to handle situations like this, but she was still cross with him about taking control and not consulting her on every decision. He knew Ada would be overjoyed to have a sister, John would want to meet her right away and Arthur would get attached way to quickly.

This was a distraction he didn’t need right now. His plan to take Grace to the races and strike up a deal with Kimber was coming along nicely and he couldn’t let a potential half sister get in the way of what needed to be done to get his family and business ahead. The fact that she had hired an investigator and nobody had caught the man sniffing around was also a problem. 

Tommy didn’t doubt that she was telling the truth about them sharing a father, but he needed to make sure that she really just wanted a connection to her siblings and not a way into the business and money. If he played this right he could come out with a potential source of knowledge about the going ons in London that would be useful in a few years if all went according to plan. 

But first, he would need to hire someone to discreetly look into Irene Phillips.


	2. An introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Irene M. Phillips, Arthur Shelby Seniors bastard daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language so please point out any mistakes I have made! :) This obviously isn't brit picked haha
> 
> I added something to the first chapter, it doesn't really change anything, but goes more into what Tommy is thinking/feeling.

Irene was sitting in her home reading a book and drinking a cup of tea while anxiously trying not to worry about her husband being late again. He had promised her after a huge row two nights ago to come home right after work and not go out drinking with his mates. That had lasted an entire day. A day more than she would‘ve thought. She absentmindedly stroked over her pregnant belly. Irene had hoped that after she finally got pregnant he would stop screaming at her and blaming her for every little thing that went wrong. No such luck. She knew the war had changed her husband,that he had seen unimaginable horrors and carried nightmares back home. That she reminded him of a time before the war, when he could get through the night without waking up screaming. Whatever love he had for her evaporated in the year after he came home. She guessed it was easier to hate and blame her than to deal with the guilt that he survived when so many others didn’t.

The shouting and arguing had started as soon as he had settled into his new old life. He went back to being an accountant and they started to try for a child again. It was all rather passionless and when she didn’t fall pregnant right away, he started getting unreasonable.

Irene sighed and closed her book. She hadn’t been reading for the past few minutes, lost in her thoughts. She feared what would happen if James grew tired of her. Since her mother had died 3 months prior she didn’t have a support system anymore and nobody would miss her. Nobody would or could help her. Her mother, Alice Lee, had been a working girl until Irene married her husband, who owned a house with enough rooms that her mother could move in with them. Out of the small one room apartment without plumbing in the slums.

  
  


The dark haired woman stood up and put her book back into its place. The tea cup went into the kitchen sink and Irene made her way up the stairs to their bedroom. She stopped in front of the room that belonged to her mother and sadness welled up. Slowly she opened the door, she couldn’t manage to throw out her mothers clothes yet. She knew that she should donate them, or bring them to one of the whore houses to help the girls out. But some of these dresses held memories. Irene picked up the picture frame that stood on her mother's bedside table and smiled sadly. It was a picture from her wedding day. Her mother, who had stood at just 157 cm was grinning broadly and holding her new wide brimmed hat against the breeze on the mild spring day. Irene was smiling just as wide, her pale blue wedding dress fluttering lightly. She had inherited her mums brown eyes, but her height must have come from her father. At 172 cm she was tall for a woman, towering over most of them and even some men. She hoped her letter had reached one of her brothers, or maybe even the sister or aunt. She didn’t know who or how they would be handling this, but with her mother passing away she was desperate for a connection outside of her marriage. 

Irene was always surprised that she didn’t have any other siblings. Her mother must have either done away with them, or had the same fertility issues that her daughter suffered from. She placed the picture frame back where it belonged and closed the door after herself. She moved into their bed room and sat down at her makeup table, removing her earrings and necklace, wiping away the light red lipstick and blush and pulling the pins out of her hair. The tresses were unfashionably long, so to not look too girlish she kept it in a tight chignon at the back of her head. Next Irene took her dress off and unclipped her stockings from their garters. Her belly wasn’t that big for 5 months, but it still made bending over harder than it needed to be. She unfastened the pregnancy corset and slipped into her nightgown. A glance at the clock told her that it was almost midnight and her husband still wasn’t home. She rolled her eyes and got into bed, extinguishing the lamp on her bedside table and snuggling under the covers.

  
  


The pregnant woman woke up some time later when her husband finally arrived home, drunk off his arse and stumbling around, mumbling to himself. She relit the lamp and silently watched David. 

„What ya‘ lookin‘ at?“, was the first thing he said to her while trying to get out of his suit pants, failing miserably. She looked at his back, eyes narrowing when she noticed how rumpled it looked. Irene was sure now that her husband was cheating on her, she just hoped that he wasn’t spending all their money on booze and whores. 

„You, being pissed out of your mind and waking us up.“, she answered, trying to make him feel guilty by pointing out their child. The child that he had desperately wanted. Irene on her part felt no guilt for what she was doing, she had never married him for love after all. 

David finally got his trousers off and unbuttoned his shirt, mumbling something about „having worked hard“ and „ungrateful women“. Irene just rolled her eyes again, waited for her husband to get under the covers and put out the lamp. He just wasn’t worth getting worked up over. David apparently thought differently, only speaking to her when their room was dark.

„I don’t need this judgement from you, woman.“

„I‘m not judging you, I’m just stating that you could have come home sooner, like you promised.“ 

„Sounds like judgement to me.“, he grumbled. Irene sighed, turning on her side, facing away from her husband. 

„I‘m just worried that you will continue with this behavior when our child is born.“, she admitted quietly. The last thing Irene wanted was a drunk and cheating husband, embarrassing her in front of the few friends she still had. She pulled the blanket further around her shoulders. 

Now it was Davids turn to sigh:“I‘m just having a bit of fun with the lads“, he tried to assure her, cuddling up against the brown haired womans back, running his hands over her stomach. „You know I will be here for our child. I just want to make some connections at the firm and drinking with them is the easiest way of doing that,“ a kiss to her shoulder „You know you can trust me Irene.“ Another kiss and David turned away from her.

She knew she could never bring herself to trust him.

*******

The next morning Irene pretended to be asleep while her husband got ready for work. She had never been a morning person and with her being pregnant David didn’t mind not being there for the morning sickness. After the sound of the front door closing echoed through the house Irene finally sat up in bed and rubbed over her belly. Like every morning she began talking to her baby: „Hello my little miracle. We will try our best today to stay relaxed and not stress, aight? Who knows, maybe today is the day one of your uncles makes contact, or maybe even your auntie? She sounded nice from the report, didn‘t she? Or maybe my auntie will call? It doesn’t matter, cause we two are going to have a loooot of fun! Just us two, forever. I promise you that, little miracle.“

After she completed her morning ritual it was time for her bath, indoor plumbing truly was a blessing. She sat down in the hot water and started to wash her hair and body, relaxing back as the scent of lavender surrounded her. Before the bath water had gotten completely cold she got out of the deep,claw foot tub and dried herself. She slipped on a robe and quickly got on with her tasks. Opening the window to the London fog, making the bed, picking up after her husband and throwing his rumpled clothes in the hamper. The housekeeper that came two times a week to help with the more strenuous tasks would arrive tomorrow. 

Irene finished tidying up the bedroom and promptly started to dress, putting on her undergarments, stockings and pressing her chest down with a lace corset again as was fashionable. A slip dress in a light blue colour and a high sitting belt completed her look for the day and down the stairs she went, hair still loose and drying. 

She put the kettle on the stove to heat water for tea and cleaned up the remnants from James breakfast. Buttering her own toast she retrieved the morning post and paper, rifling through the mail Irene stopped short when she saw a telegram addressed to her with a short message. 

_**Miss Irene M. Phillips,** _

_**Today, 2 p.m.** _

_**Stay by the telephone** _

_**Thomas M. Shelby** _

The dark haired woman almost squealed with delight when she read the message. They had gotten her letter and deigned to respond. 

„Miracle, let us hope that they don’t intend to tell us to fuck off in person. Let us hope that this is a sign that they are at least interested in getting to know us.“, she said to her baby, stroking her belly again. Irene looked up at the clock mounted on their kitchen wall and smiled with anticipation. She would hear her brothers voice for the first time in just under four hours.

„This has to go over well!“, she begged to no one but herself.

Irene busied herself with cleaning the kitchen, sorting the books in their sitting room and cutting vegetables for their dinner. At 1:30 p.m. she couldn’t keep occupying her mind with menial tasks so she quickly pinned her hair into the custom chignon and walked to her husbands study. The tall woman sat in a big leather chair behind a giant oak desk and fiddled with her dress. Time seemed to slow down to a trickle while she waited for 2 o‘clock to roll around. Absentmindedly she started to stroke over her belly again, the motion soothing her. An occasional kick from her child causing a smile on her face.

Irene could admit to herself, not out loud though, that she was nervous and put a lot of hope into the side of the family she had never met. Fear gripped her at the thought of being rejected by them. The loss of her mother had hurt her more deeply than she would let on and she yearned for the kind of family connection that Gypsy’s provided, should she be accepted into their fold.

At exactly 2 p.m. the telephone on her husbands desk rang. She waited for the second ring before answering, she did not want to appear as eager as she was: „Hello, Irene Phillips speaking.“

A gravelly, accented voice answered: „Hello Miss Phillips, Thomas Shelby speaking. How do you do?“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I researched a lot about undergarments and clothes that women wore in the 1920's, it was really interesting. Write me a comment if you're interested in links!
> 
> Comments and kudos motivate me to write, so please leave some!


	3. We both have trust issues and that's okay!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call between two siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I wanted but here we are.
> 
> Shelta will be written in cursive!
> 
> English isn't my first language, but this has been put through grammarly! This also hasn't been brit picked, just so you know!

Irene took a deep breath and hesitantly introduced herself: ”Good day Mr. Shelby. I'm doing just fine. How has the morning been treating you?”

She heard a chuckle over the phone and a noise that she guessed was her brother pulling on a cigarette. ”I've had a wonderfully productive day so far.”

”Oh?”, she leaned back into the high backed office chair and loosened the grip around their phones mouthpiece, ”Business or private?” 

”Both. Very much both.”, he responded to her question and she hoped he was at least a tiny bit amused by her. From what the investigator she had hired told her, her brother wasn't prone to smiling or being kind. A hard life and war seemed to do that to the kindest of men. 

”I'm glad to hear that. I've been terribly bored for weeks now.”, Irene admitted. There was only so much she could do while being sequestered away for her pregnancy. She was getting frustrated and her husband wasn't helping one bit.

A hum sounded through the phone. Thomas sucked on his cigarette again:” You've been locked up ’cause of the baby?”

”Yes.”, as much as she tried Irene couldn't keep the frustration out of the single little word.

”Your loving husband doesn't take you out around town anymore?”, her brother teased but she couldn't tell if it was good-natured or if he was condescending. She shook her head and reminded herself to think of the positive possibility first, he had no reason to wish ill upon her.

She snorted, a rather unladylike noise but then she never claimed to be a lady and she wasn't raised to appear like one. ”He is more interested in taking out his ale and whiskey than spending time with me.” 

”Do I hear bitterness, dear sister?”

Irene shook her head and closed her eyes. ”I would be lying if I said I don't resent him for leaving me alone in this house”, she acknowledged ”But it's probably better this way.”

Silence settled between them. The dark-haired woman didn't know if he was simply bored with the conversation topic or if he was too polite to ask further questions.

”Anyway, are you married?”, she changed the conversation topic abruptly. 

”No, the only one of us who was married is me brother John. And you now, I guess.”, he added the last part after a thoughtful pause. Irene couldn't keep the smile from her face, he was at least open to the possibility of her being their sister. 

”But is there a woman? Or a man?”

A short laugh. ”There is a woman, yes.” 

Irene smiled and leaned back into the chair some more, getting comfortable. ”Tell me about her. Is she smart?”

”Yes, she is. And she has a lot of courage. Pretty eyes, too.”, Thomas answered. Her brother apparently didn't like giving out information. He probably didn't trust her and she couldn't fault him for that. He would be stupid to do so. 

”Come ooooon~, tell me more. I'm so bored in this house.”, she whined playfully. ”If you don't want to talk about her tell me about our other siblings. A fun story.”, she almost begged. 

”Why did you contact us?”, the voice was cold, the question harsh and direct. All the playfulness vanished from her body.

”As you may have guessed”, Irene slowly explained, sorting out her thoughts. ”I'm lonely and I don't trust my husband. He has changed after the war. I think he blames me for something and I don't know for what. It has grown worse since I got pregnant. With my mother passing, I don't have a support network anymore. So when I found that picture I knew it was a sign that I should try and reach out. See if there is any other family left.”

Irene had decided to be honest with her brother about this aspect of her life early on, there was no use lying and she only risked him finding out and resenting her. She knew her reason was selfish, but it was the truth. 

”What about your mother's family?”, he prompted her to continue.

”She left when they found out she was pregnant. They wanted her to marry a man from the Loveridges family or get rid of me. She chose to run away.” 

”Your mother was a Lee, right?”, she was sure he was perfectly aware of the fact and only asked to keep her talking and glean more information.

”Yes. From the main family, too. She told me they wouldn't take her back after she left and disobeyed the clan elders. I grew up in London and while I can speak Shelta and know our traditions I have never ridden a horse or shot a gun. Though I do know magic tricks.”, Irene clarified. The quib about magic tricks was tongue in cheek but she guessed that he had heard all the same comments from people that she had gotten thrown at her all her life. ”Is your curiosity satisfied now?” 

”Not quite”, Thomas admitted, his voice was quiet and contemplating. She imagined him sitting somewhere, staring off into space, smoking, and drinking. ”Why did you marry your spouse?”

Irene laughed loudly, amusement clear on her face. „Why? For love of course.”, she jested.

”Misses Phillips..”

”Irene, please.”, she threw in.

”Irene, ”, her brother continued after a short pause ”We both know that that's not the truth.”

”But why would I give you all this information and receive nothing in return. I don't even know what year you were born.”, she accused.

”Neither do I know your birth year. Your mother followed the gypsy tradition of not trusting paperwork.” Some warmth had come back into his voice and the dark-haired woman wondered what he looked like. The investigator had given her a brief description of her siblings, he apparently had hauntingly blue eyes, similar to her own, and high cheekbones. 

”1890”

”Me, too.”

Irene chuckled. ”I was born in spring, what about you?” 

”Late fall, almost winter.” Her brother sounded quite put upon.

”That makes me your older sister!”, she exclaimed dramatically, cackling. He just sighed, very deeply. 

”I suppose it does.” 

”Come on, Thomas. Tell your big sister about your troubles.”, she teased, still grinning and enjoying herself.

”I don't have troubles. I'm a trouble-free man.”

”Oh, bullshit! You run an illegal betting shop and are telling me nothing ever goes wrong? You have the reputation of being intelligent and violent, Thomas. People fear and admire you in equal parts.” 

”Your investigator did a throughout job.”, he grumbled, Irene just chuckled again. She didn't remember the last time she was so invested in a conversation. Probably before her mother died. 

”Of course he did. I hired him after all and I only wanted the best for such a special job.”, the tall woman boasted and she wasn't sure but it sounded like Thomas had chuckled with her.

”The information is outdated. We are completely legal now.”

”Congratulations. How did you manage that?”, she asked. People didn't just suddenly turn legal and she didn't think they had the money to give to the right people to grease the way for such a thing to happen.

”We offered a better deal to the race track king.”, Thomas answered cryptically.

Irene snorted again:” You really don't plan on telling me a thing, do you?” 

”Until a few weeks ago I didn't even know you existed. I'm not going to trust you that fast. No matter that the information checks out and I can't even deny the possibility that our bastard of a father whored around.”

”You would be stupid to trust me and as I have already started before I don't believe that that is the case.”, she quickly stated. Irene had, of course, hoped that everything would go swimmingly, but realistically she knew life doesn't work like that. ”What do the others say?”

”They don't know about you. I haven't told them.”

Irene swallowed, she didn't want to be a secret. ”Why?”, her voice, luckily, didn't sound as shaky as she felt.

”I didn't want to get their hopes up. Especially Adas. She hated being the only girl with so many brothers. Still despises it, I'm sure.”, he admitted. She liked the kindness that he showed with his actions, even though she desperately wanted to meet all of them.

”I grew up with the other children living in my building, but I'm sure it's different to have to stay with them in the same house all the time. I could just go back home if they pissed me off.”

They both chuckled and it was quiet for a few seconds before Thomas broke the silence:” I have to go, Irene. I'd like to call you next week. Same day, same time. If that works or you?”

”Yes, that works. Not like I have much to do right now. Sitting at home and reading is quite boring if you grew up always running around and being busy.”

”You won't have much quiet after your baby is born.”, he started and Irene smiled while looking down at her belly. She wanted to touch her bump but the phone pieces we're keeping her from reaching out.

”I honestly can't wait for them to be here. Until next time, Thomas. Goodbye.”

” _ Goodbye. _ ”, he said in Shelta and ended the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos motivate me a lot!!
> 
> Please point me in the direction of grammar and spelling mistakes! :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are greatly appreciated and comments highly requested and loved.


End file.
